APPLETON - Lawrence University inadvertently published a photo in its annual report that shows a racist slur scrawled on a wall behind administration officials, and university officials have apologized after a faculty member pointed it out.

Publication of the black-and-white, 11-inch-by-13-inch photo comes as some students and faculty have criticized the university for not addressing racism on campus.

The university sent an email Saturday to alumni and donors apologizing for the photo, which shows the university cabinet in the cupola of Main Hall. The wall behind them includes graffiti and the n-word is clearly visible above the head of one of the administrators. The campus community will receive a similar email before Christmas, LU President Mark Burstein told Post-Crescent Media.

About 14,000 people received a hard copy of the annual report.

Lawrence University inadvertently published a photo in its annual report that shows a racist slur scrawled on a wall behind administration officials.(Photo: Courtesy of Lawrence University Annual Report)

Cropped version of the photo Lawrence University inadvertently published in its annual report that shows a racist slur scrawled on a wall behind administration officials,(Photo: Courtesy of Lawrence University Annual Report)

Burstein said he hopes the slur's appearance in the report drives the school to focus more on its efforts to be more inclusive. He said he found it "extremely hurtful" that the word was in the annual report. A faculty member first informed Burstein of the problem late last week.

Lawrence student Oumou Cisse found out about the slur after an alumnus of the school posted the image on Facebook. Madison365 first reported the story this morning.

"It's not shocking anymore," she said of racism on campus. "… These things happen all the time now that we're not shocked anymore."

Cisse led a protest against racism on College Avenue in October. A group of students of color met with Burstein in November to discuss concerns over racism on campus and to present a letter of demands. The demands included ways to make the school more inclusive, such as mandatory cultural sensitivity training and the creation of an Ethnic Studies major.

"This essentially validates our concerns and justifies our concerns with the administration and with the institution," Cisse said. "Because this is a clear-cut example of a group of people standing in front of the n-word and essentially being completely oblivious and just smiling at it."

Associate Vice President of Communications Craig Gagnon said the photo was taken this summer but the university did not notice the slur until last week. Gagnon said 10 to 12 people, including the photographer, editor and designer, failed to notice the slur. He said the image reinforces the concerns raised on campus.

"The appearance of this word should not have escaped our notice, and I apologize to the entire Lawrence community of students, staff, faculty, parents and alumni," he wrote in Saturday's email.

Gagnon said he does not know when the word was written in chalk in the cupola. "It could have been a decade ago, it could have been 100 years ago." He said staff members removed the graffiti on Friday.

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Lawrence University inadvertently published a photo in its annual report that shows a racist slur scrawled on a wall behind administration officials.
Tuesday, December 22, 2015, in Appleton, Wis.
Dan Powers/Post-Crescent Media(Photo: Dan Powers/Post-Crescent Media)

Gagnon told Post-Crescent Media that the school used software to remove the the slur in a new version of the annual report.

"I think anybody who looks at that would certainty know it is the last thing we would do," Gagnon said. "To send out anything intentional like that."

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Burstein said the site of the photo is usually locked, and students are permitted in the cupola only to write their names on the wall, part of a Lawrence tradition. That is likely how someone had access to write the slur, he said.

"I deeply regret that it was included," Burstein said. "I also think it underlines that we need to make progress as a campus community."

Lawrence's enrollment is 1,561. Students of color make up at least 18.5 percent of enrollment, according to school data that doesn't account for the race or ethnicity of every student. Black American students account for just over 3 percent of the student body.